Conveyer garment press



1932- J. c. LEDBETTER CONVEYER GARMENT PRESS Filed June 4, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jam 65 Gun/"0d Lea k556i I I ATTORNLY Aug, 30, 1932. J. c. LEDBETTER CONVEYER GARMENT PRESS Filed June 4. 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR w I 1 .m j AM-ha J H m J5 l 5 [m III] rm h V Q .5

ATTORNEYS in r Aug 3Q, 1932. J. c. LEDBETTER fi' m CONVEYER GARMENT PRESS Filed June 4, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 4 w 'I I' lllllli V i Al u 2 4 m l m i 9" The. accompanying Patented Aug. 38, 1932 has: are

ES? earners JAMES CAME-OD LETDBETTER, OF'NEW YORK,.N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE PROSPERITY COLT- PANY, INC., 01 SYRACUSE{NE'W: YORK; A CORPORATION 015 NEN YORK converse GARMENT rn-Ess 'i his invention. relates to presses and in particular toa conveyor garment press which is capable of increased production and requires a minimum of floor space.

Thouglrmy inventionrelatesin general to garmentpresses, Ihave illustrated herewith a hosiery press-,- and an object is to produce a.

pressing machine, capable of pressing, drying; and. capable of printing, stamping or u u o characteristic feature. residing 1n a small size; upright vertical. machine having thepressing and drying. jaws located high ofi of thefl-oor and abovertheoperators head in or- 15; den that the workbe executed; away; from the operator.

ing the, pressing jaws high above the opera tor is'to afiordmore pleasant working envirofgthe-fact'that the heat which radiates from the'jaws of; the press'does, not comein: close contact with the operator because of the fact that th'eheated jaws are out of reach, and the Theat radiating therefrom has tendency to irise and not to heat the lower strata of air adj acentihefioor and aroundthe operator.

Another important feature and. object of thin invention residesin the provision of convey ngi means whereby the garments carried onzhosiery'forms aremoved up into the jaws and moveddown therefrom, the line oftravel beingsubstanually vertical thus bringing thehosiery forms to rest at a point directly in to :remove the pressed, dried'and printed garments from the forms and'replace new work I thereon.

An additional obj ect isto produce adouble printing operation; and the'arrangement'is such that a-number of stockings are finished,

completely pressed and printed-each time the.

pressingmachine opens.

drawings lllustrate trade-markinggarments such as hosiery,the

One oftheobjectsof my invention in locatonments and this is accomplished by reason front of the operator whereit is convenient ,were'previously pressed. are undergoing ,a'

one embodiment of the invention serving to show. the principle and mode of operation of this invention. Certain changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention Figure 1 illustrates a side view of a hosiery pressing machine constructed in accordance with my invention showing the press jaws open. and illustrating one hosiery tray moved up into position between the jaws while the other hosiery tray is in its lowermost position with one independent set of the hosiery forms pivoted or swung upwardly bringing the forms into position where the stockings are easily'removcd and replaced thereon;

Figure 2 shows a front view of the hosiery press with part of the hosiery forms broken away from the lower frame of the conveyor tray.

F'gure 3 shows a'separate view of the improved double unit hosiery tray provided witha double or twin set of hosiery forms each unit of which is pivotal independent of the other. Furthern'iore, this view illustrates printing tape in taut position stretched across thetoes of the hosiery or forms of each independent unit in position ready to transfer the manufacturefls data such as size, trade mark etc, onto the work.

Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view taken on the line l& of Figure 3, but showing one work form unit pivoted outwardly from the other.

Figure 5 illustrates cross-sectional view taken on the line 5 5 ofFigure 5.

Referringfurther to the drawings for a detaileddescription of the invention, there is shown a tall vertical press frame 9 co1nprising in this instance two upright spaced frame standards 9 joined by connecting webs 10 and terminating at the upper end in hub bearings 11 which rotatably support a shaft l2'which carries lever arms fixed thereto. The frame 9 is ina'dewith a bolting flange 13v on which is anchored a fixed pressing member such as a jaw or buck 14:. The two lever arms l5l are shown reachingdownwardly and are bolted to a'movable pressing jaw or head 16. By rotating the shaft 1.2,

i the pressing head 16 swings open and closed relatively to the buck 14 and presses the 7 work therebetween.

' Means for oscillating the shaft '12 to operate the pressincludes a press lever 17 which has its upper end anchored to the shaft 12 and itsl-owenen'd is'adapted tobe'swung "relatively to the. frameto open and close the pressing jaws. The press lever 17 may be actuated" by any suitable press operating,

. means. In" the present instance motor mech-' anism is employed for operating the press I so that'the lower end of the presslever is slottedas at 18 and by swinging'the lower end of the press lever 17 it follows that the press jaw '16 is opened-and closed on the work. To this. end a crank arm 21 carries I a roller '22 which travels in the press lever f slot 18 to swing the pi'esslever 17.

crank arm 21 is fixed on adrive shaft 23 and i this shaftlis driven by a worm-wheel 24.

25 v the rearYof the press, is adapted to open and A'Ipower driven worm pinion 25 engages the worm wheel 24;- and a motor 26' drives the worm pinion 25.. Itiis'noW, observed how the electric motor 26, mounted on the frame 9 to close the pressing machine; It is apparent that mechanism othertl'ian that described may be used to oscillatethe press lever.

A control mechanism is employed to con- 'trol the operation of the motor 26 and move- I merit of the crank arm 21 in order-that the press bestopped iii open or closed position. For this 27 piv- I oted on the frame and adapted to reciprocate j a control rod 28; The upper'endof v v 28". is connected with a clutch lever 29 which the rod is actuated to engage anddisengage a clutch within an ordinary V from-which the drive shaft 23 projects and operate the crank 21.

from which it receives its rotative power to I In order that the workbe V jaws, an improved two-tray conveyer is used,

v ment forms.

i carry the weight of the the work thereon, while the hold the cables and trays at the desired angle, nearly upright, so

each tray of which is equipped with twin ga-r- Two tray frames 31 and 32 are and 37, the pair of upper cables 36 running around supporting connected by cables 36 rollers 38 and being guided by spacing rollers 39v and the pair of lower cables 37 running around rollers 40 and being guided by spacing' r'ollers41. The supporting rollers 38 conveyer trays and lower rollers as to run the trays in; and outof the jaws parallel thereto,

rollers 39*and 41 act to confine-the twotrays 31'jand 32 in close relation so as to enable both trays to-be conveyed in and out of the jaws without providing excessively wide opening movement of the aws. maybe included in the Tension springs 42 cables to maintain them taut. and at the head 16 to move the 'nianual effort of purpose, the control of the motor" may be accomplished by a foot pedal the spring transmission housing 30 conveniently and rapidly delivered and removed from the press regular intervals and The guide.

same time permit the The conveyer trays balance one with the other and readily run up'and down by slight v the operator Who grasps the 'lowertray and simultaneously pulls the'upper tray down out .of the press jaws to a position within reach of an operator. a VVhil'e I have shown and described the im proved double tray conveyer as "used in con'-: nection with my upright pressing machine,- it is apparent that itmay be used with other types of pressing machines. Furthermore, the particular tray about tobe described may in some instances be used independent y of theconveyer apparatus "because incertain cases this hosiery pressing and printing tray may be used singlyon ordinary present day. garment -presses and the double or twin hosiery units'in that event fulfills all re;

quirements. a

Since the journaled in a reinforcement block 45 set in trays, particularly the outer or front tray 3l,against the buck 14.

construction and operation of both garment or hosiery trays 31' and 82 are)" alike, a description of one will suffice. A tray 7 frame 31car'ries a shaft 44 which has each-end moves it upwardly which 4 each; corner ofthe f 'ame 31'. Thesha-ft 44 is provided withmeans for holding it in fixed position and onesatisfactory wayto ac I 'COIllPllSll this result resides in the use of a pressed dog in'and out of thenotch in fixed position. 5 It inlthe shaft end 44 or another position so that "the shaft will remain where'p'laced. 7

A'tube is rotatablyjcarried on the shaft:

44 with one end of the tube resting against the inner side of'the'fraineiil and the other.

end thereofprojecting' through the frame and 7 being notched as at 51. A spring pressed dog 52 yieldingly presses other position. the shaft 44 and operate independentlyof" the other and each 13 locked inits respective position by th dogs 47 ande52. g

Slots 54 are formed the tube .5 0 at as a hosiery board or movably' projecting into the tube notched at "51 to hold the rotatable tube inone' or. EH1 This arrangen'ient permits tube 50 to be concentrically rotatably "mounted so as to allow. one 'to' a garment form, such form 55'as shown, has 7 i one end'thereof anchored in the shaft 44 and through "said slot 54 I A plurality of hosiery forms 55 disposedinik a common plane are anchored to the V shaft'44- and SWlIIg thEIGWItll thus constituting one V .ofthe-units of the twin set hereinbefore men- 5 r tioned. The forms swing free and clear o fthe tube .50 and do not disturb its position.

Another set of hosiery forms 57 are arranged between the forms ,55and have their ends anchored to the tube 50 and are adapted to swing as the tube 50 rotates relatively to the shaft 44. This set of hosiery forms 57 constitute the other twin unit hereinbefore mentioned and operates independently of and does not disturb the position of the first mentioned unit. 55. In other words, each hosiery I-orni unit 5.5 and 57 moves independently of the other and the forms of, each stand'normally in the same plane. a

Itiisto be observedthat the last described hosiery forms 57 have long shanks 58 which place the toesof the :forms57 somewhat above the toes of. the forms 55. In, this way the-toes of each of the twin forms are staggered'or placed out of alignment with each other so that printing or transfer tape 59 may be disposed across the toes of all the higher forms '57, while another piece of printing or transfer tape =60 maybe placed across the lower hosiery forms 55. The two 7 up in close relation to economize space and printing strips 59 and 60 operate independently of each other and are adapted to transfer or print size data, the manufacturers trademark, or other indiciatll directly onto the toes of each set of hose being pressed and printed. It is desirable to provide suitable anchorage means to hold the ends of the printing tapes 59 and. 60, and to this end a spring clip 62 is placed on theframe at each end :of the printing tape to hold it in taut condition across the hosiery toes.

The operator graspsa hosiery form 55 and pulls it-out as in Figure 1 to swing all forms 55 constituting :one unit out from the plane of the frame 31 so that hose can be easily removed therefrom and .placed thereon. The operator in'the same'way actuates the other hosiery .form unit :57. It is observed that the 'hosiery'forms 551arc separated a considerable distance from each other when swung, outwardly from the frame 131' or 32' However,

the forms are swung inwardly 'in 'com- -mon alignment, it follows that the forms 55 and 57 are disposed very closely together so as to economically utilize all'space and to enable a large number of-hose, say one dozen at a time,to be treated in one tray. By swinging one unit at a time outwardly, the operator has suiiicientroom in which to work because the hosiery forms 55 composing the Iunit are not in'themselvescrowded, neither are the hosiery forms 57 crowded, but when thetwin'units both of them are swung inwardly and made ready for pressing, it follows thatpthe forms 55 and 57 are crowded increase production.

"A work ftrough .65 may be placed directly beneath the :conveyer apparatus, if desired,

for it is necessary that the operator be kept supplied with a quantity of damp hose which are to be pressed and it is the usual practice for the garments or hosiery to be brought, in quantity from the dying vats and piled in the trough 65 whereupon the operator is supplied with suficient work to fill first one hosiery unit 55' and the other 57.

In the general operation of a machine, the operator presses the control pedal 27 to stop the motor 26 or to actuate the clutching mechanism so as to open the press to position shown in Figure 1. The conveyer is then operated to bring one tray, as the tray 31, to lowermost position which simultaneously carries the loaded tray 32 upwardly into the jaws. The operator next presses the pedal 27 to close the head 16 upon the work. WVhile one tray load of work is undergoing the pressing. operation, the operator attends to the removal and placing of work upon the other lowermost tray which just came out of the jaws whereupon the pedal 27 is again actuated and the above mentioned procedure is repeated.

Special utility resides in the twin hosiery units 55 and 57 The twin set of forms are used to expedite the tape printing operation and to hasten production. Printing of hosiery cannot always be satisfactorily done until they are dried. It is therefore inadvisable to put wet hosiery on the forms and at the same time stretch the transfer tape thereacross for the reason that transfer tape will not satisfactorily imprint the data 61 on the hose when damp and during the drying operation.

It becomes desirable, therefore, to first dry the hose and thereafter print them. My invention, embodies means for first drying the hose by one closing operation, followed by opening the press; where-upon the operator stretches the. printing tape in position; and immediately again closes the press to perform the printing operation. In other words, the hoseon one of the form units, as the unit 57, is first dried by closing the press; the press next opens to give access to the dried work; the operator draws the printing tape across the dried hosiery toes; and the press then again closes the second time which satisfactorily effects the printing operation. In this way the press jaws must-close twice on each hose to dry and print them. The jawsclose first to dry the hose, and close the second time to print the hose.

Before the advent of my garment press improvements herein described, it wasnecessary for the pressing machine jaws to open and close twice before obtaining one set of completely dried and pressed hosiery. There followed loss of time because the work was removed from the press every pressing operation, but by employing thisimproved machine, it *is possible to remove completely pressed and printed hosieryeach and every time the jaws open. This improved mode of operation is'carried out'by first filling-one form unit, as 55,-with wethose and starting the --pr ess ing operation without having any hose mounted 'onthe other unit. 'Thepress jayvs area owifirst elosed upon the-lone first filled -un1t55, thef aws'are then opened to expose the dry ho e -;x the printing tape 60 1s 1 spread across 'the dried hose on this unit and at'the same time the operator now puts wet-f'hose on" the empty forms 57; 'runsthe loaded-tray up into the Jaws; and initiates V the pressing operationflUpon the second opening of the press jaws, it follows that one setofiho'sejcomes off of the unit 55 complete ly dried and printed and the wet hosiery Which-had been mounted on the forms 57 are I dried" only'which means that the operator I sult that one batch of hosiery isremoved from v the press completely dried and -'printed each now stretches the other printing tape 59 across the toes" on the forms 57, and this operation continues periodically with the re- .timegthe jaws open."

The spring clips 62 enable the operator'to quickly removethe old and used tape 59 and 'and-repl-ace itwith new tape. The operator of course usesone tape on every other i v form unit 55 or-57 each time the jaws open so that one new tape is used each time the press opens. V g

F 1'gure 1 shows one ofthe hosiery units, as

- 5.5, swung outwardly from the frame 52 in a position convenient to the operator so that hemayiremove the hosiery therefrom. and re place new goods thereon to be treated and 1 it is understood how each unit 55 and 5,7

. follows that economy in floor space is obswin'g out freely from the'tray frame while work is being'changed. By using this mproved hosiery press, 1t

' t'ained, working conditions are more pleasant 1.,A garment'fin'ishing tray "comprising a becaus'e'the heat is not so intense, and produotion is greatly increased because the operator is actually engaged during-each pressing Period-. Whatclaim is:

frame, a plurality of sets of garment holding forms carried by the frame in one plane, each set, beingfindependently pivoted 'in re 'lation. with the other-set and to swing lateral'lv with-"respect to the frame, and each. set

of forms including a number'of garment forms .Carriedin' fixed relation to each other to hold garments in shape during a finishing operation. I

2. A garment finishingtray comprising a frame,-a twin set of garment holding forms carried in; one plane thereby, each set being "in independent pivotal relation with the other set, each set including a plurality of forms,

and means for holding each set in fixed relation 1n a pos1t1on independently of the other,

i 3, A- gafrhentfinishingtraycomprising a frame, a twin set" of garment holding forms 1 in independent pivotal relation with the oth-v er sen-each set includinga plurality of forms,

'means for holding -each.set in fixed'relation.

in arpositio n independentlyof the other, and transfer tape holding-'meansfor support ng I f printing tape on the forms of. eaohset.

4. A garment pressing tray comprising. a frame, a shaft pivotally carried;tl1erein, a"

set of garment forms fixedto the :shaft and movable in and out of'the frame, another set supporting the last set of forms adjacent the iirstsetofforms. 1

carried in alignment thereby, eaoh 'set'being vof garment forms, and" means for'pivotallyi a so i '5. Agarment' pressingtray comprising a.

frame, a shaftpivotally carriedtherein, a r

.setof garmentforms fixed-to the shaft. and

movable in and-out of'the framepa tube ro-' tatably carried on the shaft, and a-"set of garment forms mounted on the tube.= r

6. Agarment'pressing tray comprising a frame, a shaft pivotally carried therein, a .7 l i set of garment forms fixedl'to the shaftand -movably in and outof-the frame, a tube ro- I tatably carried on the shaft, a set ofv garment forms mountedon the tube,;the formsbeing alternately-securedto the shaft and tube thus providi-ngtwo independently operating units such that the forms of both unitsare closely spaced when: standing in a commonplane and distantly spaced whenone unit is movedout from the other.

plurality of garment forms closely spaced in a single plane andmovable in the tray, means 7. A garment pressing tr-ay'comprising a .100

for rigidly connecting together every other to the tube, and garment forms mounted on the tube.

I 9." A garment pressing comprising,

a frame, a shaft rotatably mounted therein,

garment formsmounted on the shaft, a tube on the shaft and slotted ateachform 'to permit the shaft and forms.to pivot relatively to the tube, garment forms mounted on the tube, means to hold.the shaft. and its forms in a predetermined position, and-means-to hold the, tube and its forms at-any desired position. 1 g

10. A garment pressing traycomprising,

- a frame, a shaft rotatably mounted therein, garment forms mounted on the-shaft,ia tube ontheshaft and slotted at eachjform toper i 1 ,mit the shaft and forms to pivot relatively to ithe 'tube, garment forms mounted on the 7 tube, "and printing tape holding meansacarT- 8. A garment pressing tray comprising,'

'mit the shaft and double tray ried by the frame and adapted to hold the tape on one or both of the aforesaid forms.

11. A garment pressing traycomprising, a frame, a shaft rotatably mounted therein, garment forms mounted on the shaft, a tube on the shaft and slotted at each form to performs to turn relatively in the tube, garment forms mounted on the tube, means to hold the shaft and forms at any desired position, means to hold the tube and forms at any desired position, and printing tape holding means carried by the frame and adapted to hold the tape on one or both of the aforesaid forms.

12. A hosiery and the like pressing tray, a plurality of hosiery forms arranged in units, the forms of one unit being longer than the other and thereby being arranged in staggered relation thus producing two rows of orms, the hosiery toes of one row being in alignment and the hosiery toes of the other row being in alignment, and supporting means carrying the alternate hosiery forms of each row in independently movable relation whereby the operator progressivel Y loads one row of forms with work and removes completed work from the other row of forms.

13. press comprising in combination, a frame standing vertically, cooperating press jaws with uprightly disposed pressing surfaces mounted on the upper end of the frame high above the operator, a press lever adapted to swing the jaws open and closed, operating means for working the press lever, and a carrier for conveying work up and down into and out of the jaws, and a twin set of tray.

14:. A press comprising in combination, a tall vertical frame, cooperating press jaws mounted on top the frame high above the position of an operator, said jaws having their pressing faces disposed at an angle to the vertical, means for opening and closing the press, a work conveyer mounted on the frame parallel to the plane of the press jaws in upright position at an angle to the vertical, and pivoted work forms carried by the conveyer adapted to pivot into the conveyer to move up into the jaws and pivot out after moving down from the jaws.

15. A press comprising in combination, a tall press frame, press jaws mounted on top of the frame, said jaws having their meeting faces in a substantially upright position, means for opening and closing the press, a plurality of tray frames, support means holding the frames parallel to the faces of the press jaws and to carry the frames to and from the jaws, and a plurality of work forms mounted in each frame and pivoted in relation thereto adapting the forms to swing in and out of the frame.

16. A hosiery press comprising in combination, a tall press frame, press jaws mounted garment forms mounted in each ontop of the frame, said jaws having their meeting faces in a substantially upright position, means for opening and closing the press, a plurality of tray frames, conveyer support means holding the frames parallel to the faces of the press jaws and to carry the frames to and from the jaws, twin work form units carried in each frame thereby adapting hosiery to be progressively finished on first one unit and then the other, and means mounting each unit so it may be swung outwardly in relation to the other to a loading and unloading position.

17. A press comprising in combination, a tall press frame, press jaws mounted on top of the frame, said jaws having their meeting faces in a substantially upright position. means for opening and closing the press, a plurality of tray frames, conveyer support means holding the frames parallel to the faces of the press jaws and to carry the frames up to and down from the jaws, a plurality of work forms mounted in each frame and divided into units each of which is pivoted in relation to the other adapting the forms to swing in and out of the frame, and a printing means independently coopcrating with each unit thereby enabling a quantity of work to be progressively dried and printed each jaw closing and pressing operation,

18. A press comprising in combination, pressing jaws, operating means for opening and closing the press, a pressing tray adapted to be placed between the jaws, means for moving the tray in and out of the jaws, a twin set of work forms carried in the tray, means for mounting said forms in the tray in two rows each row providing a set of forms, the work adapted to be dried and pressed by the jaws on one set of forms, printing means associated with the press to print the dried and pressed work on one set of forms, and printing means to print the work on the other set of forms.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JAMES CAMROD LEDBETTER. 

